


"Plastic Things"

by CupcakeGumdrop3



Series: Plastic Things [2]
Category: South Park
Genre: F/M, Love, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Pregnancy, Unhealthy Relationships, Unhealthy marriage, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2019-12-07 09:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18232841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupcakeGumdrop3/pseuds/CupcakeGumdrop3
Summary: This series follows Carol and Stuart's relationship, and this second part includes multiple chapters of important events that lead up to the wedding.Parts one-two:  Carol finds out she's pregnant and has to tell her best friend and her boyfriend..Parts three-five: Stuart proposesParts six-seven: Carol confronts her parents





	1. Plastic Tests

**Author's Note:**

> (Same notes apply for this continuation of the "Plastic Things" work) 
> 
> Definitely canon for my When Do I Get Out Of Here universe, but the story stands alone. You don't have to read that giant monster of a series to get any of the references in this one-shot... except for one. *evin grin*
> 
> There is a major plot point for the McCormick storyline that is mentioned here very vaguely, but I didn't want to give it away because I haven't dropped that bomb in the series work yet. When I do, you'll be able to tell where I was referencing it, and it'll hurt that much more, I'm sorry. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy Stewart and Carol's wedding as she takes on the McCormick name.
> 
> P.p.s. In my head Carol comes from money, like TOKEN amounts of money, and she lost it all when her family cut her off completely after three strikes: dating, getting high with, and then getting pregnant by Stuart. They were willing to support her and the baby, but getting engaged was the straw that broke the camel's back and they abandoned her. Poor Carol. 😔

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol finds out she's pregnant with Kevin.

She was high when she first found out she was pregnant. 

She'd been at Stuart's all day, fucking and falling in love in his dirty garage; bedsheets tangled around her feet, a burnt glass pipe tangling clouds around her head. 

She’d come home to a dark and empty house and wandered the halls in a restless daze.She paced around her room, dragging her fingertips against the pastel walls while her mind echoed the same burning question she'd been avoiding all week.  She'd been doing this for what felt like hours before she finally decided to dump out the contents of her purse and take the newly purchased pregnancy test into the bathroom.

Carol was so shocked by the results that she tossed it right then and there, deep into a neighbor’s trash bin outside.

When she finally came down, she’d convinced herself that she didn’t know _what_ she saw... but it was now 6:00pm — too late to risk being seen rooting through her bougie neighbor’s trash like some desperate raccoon.

Now here she was, standing in the back of a Rite Aid, biting her stubby nails and bouncing her heel against the linoleum floor as Laura Tucker purchased a pregnancy test at the register.  Carol could see Laura’s short ponytail bouncing behind her as she rushed to meet the redhead near the exit.

“Ok.”Laura held her breath as she spoke.“It’s all right here.One… _test_ …” she whispered it, as if speaking the words would inevitably bring bad luck, “and one liter of Mountain Dew.Plus ice cream, to either celebrate, or…”Laura didn’t finish that sentence.The silence weighed heavier than the words ever could.“Um, here’s your change.”Laura pulled a crumpled bill and some dirty coins from the pocket of her color-blocked windbreaker.    

Carol took a deep breath and tucked red hair behind her ears. 

“Ok.  I guess it’s now or never.”

The girls sat slumped against the wall, legs stretched out across Carol’s bed, passing a liter of Mountain Dew back and forth in silence.  Carol's eyes fluttered dazedly.  A lit cigarette dangled idly from between Laura’s lips.

At one point, Laura got up to turn the radio on, leaving Nirvana humming quietly in the corner of the room.

“Any chance you have to pee yet?”She muttered, taking one last drag of the cigarette before tapping the lit edge against Carol’s secret-bedside-ashtray, and stashing it back in her drawer.

“Not yet.”Carol lied, hugging her pillow tightly around her stomach. 

Laura waved the smoke around with her hand as she exhaled, as if that would prevent the smell from dissipating into Carol’s bedspread and carpet. 

Carol didn’t care.If her parents caught them smoking again, that would be the least of everyone’s troubles. 

“Carol.”Laura shot her friend a lazily judgmental look.“You can’t keep dragging this out and pretending it's not happening, that’s gonna make the situation go away.” 

“Fine.”Carol grumbled, pulling herself off of the bed and snatching the test up from her desk on her way into the bathroom. 

She stared at herself in the mirror for ages.  

Carol could feel her grip tightening on the sink with each passing second as she worked up the courage to prove what she already knew to be true.  

She glared with heavy blame until her eyes began to unfocus and she could no longer hold her breath.  

She slowly broke eye contact and reached for the cardboard box. 

_Shit._

Carol looked down at the pregnancy test her her hands.The little pink plus sign glared up at her starkly against the white screen; right next to a tight, pink burn under her thumbnail.

Carol sunk to the floor.

She looked down at it again, just for a second, just to see if it was still even there between her white knuckles.It was.And it was still positive.

Carol lowered herself to the hard floor.  She curled up on her side and rested her temple against the cold tiles, hugging herself tightly.  She moved a slow trembling hand to her flat stomach as stale tears rolled off her nose and splashed against the dirty ground.

Carol could hear noise on the other side of the door — Laura was moving coat hangers in her closet and humming to the music on the radio.  

It would have been easy to lie there forever; _avoid_ her problems instead of facing them... just like she always did.  

But she couldn't avoid this one. 

She had to be strong for the life that was growing inside her. 

Carol squeezed her eyes tight and gathered herself up of the floor.  She took a deep breath and a long, hollow look at herself in the mirror before she finally opened the bathroom door. 

Laura was standing in front of the mirror, posing with Carol’s brown leather jacket draped fashionably over her shoulders.  The pint of ice cream was already opened on the desk, with two plastic spoons skewered into it, and a few bites taken out of it. “Hey do you think I could borrow this sometime?”Laura called over her shoulder nonchalantly.

When Carol didn’t answer, Laura spun around.

The look on Carol’s face must have given her away because she didn't have to say anything.  Laura brought her hands to her mouth in shock as the leather jacket tumbled to the floor. 

“It’s positive.”Carol clarified, tossing it carelessly onto the bed.Laura dropped her hands and stared passively at the test, not moving and not speaking.Carol stayed in the doorway and stared at the floor.She didn’t say anything either. 

“Do…” Laura’s voice trailed off.“Do you... ?”

“I don’t know what to do.”Carol dismissed.  Her voice was surprisingly steady.She looked down at her hands, and they were no longer shaking. 

She walked over to the bed and sat rigidly against the window.Laura climbed onto the bed with her, setting the pint of ice cream down on the comforter between them.Carol’s eyes were trained on the opposite wall.There was a photo collage there.She grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly against her stomach. 

After what felt like forever, Laura followed Carol’s gaze to the far wall and spoke.

"Are you gonna tell him?”


	2. Plastic Furniture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol tells Stuart he's going to be a father.

_"We love the all, the all of you... DUH NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH... where lands are green and skies are blue... _DUH NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH NUH_ " _

Stuart sat on his bed, staring out his window and jamming out to Spacehog.  He took swigs from the glass bottle of PBR in his hands in between air-guitar solos and bass riffs.  

He was mid-swig when he happened to look out the window and see Carol and her friend Laura pulling up to the house.  He wasn't expecting a visit, but the sight of her — even from far away — still made his heart skip a beat. 

"Hey!" He exclaimed excitedly, almost choking on beer.  He waved briskly at his bedroom window, although he was pretty sure she couldn't see him from where they were parked.  Stuart chugged the rest of his beer and ran into the bathroom to swish mouthwash.  Him and Carol's relationship was still pretty knew, although it was moving fast, so he was still constantly trying to impress her by not being a complete slob.  

He worked on smoothing his hair out just right until it was perfect, before throwing his hat back on how he liked it.

He heard a knock on the door and sprinted, sliding in his socks on the hardwood floor.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Laura’s car screeched to a stop in front of the McCormick family house.The engine idled while Carol sat still in the passenger seat, looking out at the cold and loveless house from the warmth of her best friend's car.   

After a long silence, Laura finally spoke up.  

"...So, you gonna go in, or..."

"Don't rush me."  Carol snapped.

Laura occupied herself by switching stations while radio blared static.

Carol was staring up at the shingled roof, at the way it loomed darkly against the brightly colored house and all its dysfunction inside.

"You know, when you think about it," Laura piped up again, "21 is not...  _too_  young to have your first kid... I mean, it's young but... you know, people our age have kids..."

"People our age got their shit together."  Carol explained dryly.   

Carol had NO idea how to be an adult.  She had never had a job, she has NO idea how to do taxes...

"Hey."  Laura’s warm tone snapped Carol out of her spiral.  “You can do it.”  She smiled.  Carol's stomach turned with heavy guilt.  “Just tell him the truth.  Now or never.”Laura reminded her.  Carol almost broke down and demanded to leave as Laura squeezed her hand comfortingly.  Carol squeezed back tightly.  

After a moment of hesitation, she grabbed the door handle.

 

Carol waved, feeling small as she watched Laura's car fade down the street, leaving her alone on the sidewalk.

She walked up the front steps and stood before the painted door.  

It was chipping, but not because it was old or worn out.  Just because Stuart's neurotic mother painted a new coat every few months and it was _way_ too thick.  Even this sturdy piece of wood was compressed to fragility in this house.  

Carol knocked against a pink chip in the green door and waited.  She could hear her boyfriend's feet running on the other side of the door, and her heart pounded to match his steps.  He threw open the door with a cocky smile and looked her up and down appraisingly.    

“Well, hey there.”  Stuart crooned lazily, snaking an arm around Carol’s waist and mumbling in her ear, “I’ve missed you.  Haven’t seen you in a whole week.”  Stuart kissed along her jawline, making his way all the way down her neck until she pushed against him and he stepped back to grin at her.  His expression quickly changed to one of deep panic.  “What’s wrong?”  

Carol didn’t know what to say.She opened and closed her mouth, but her vocal cords made no sound. 

"Babe?"  

Carol felt lost.  What should she say?  What _could_ she say?

“Hey, hey, shh, shh, shh” Stuart cooed quietly, wiping a thumb against her cheek, tenderly.She hadn’t noticed that she was crying.“What do you need?  I'll give you anything."  He dipped his head low and kissed the crook of her neck.  "Hm?"  He ran his fingertips down her back so gently it stung like daggers, and Carol wondered if she could actually stand to lose him.  His chipped tooth stuck out adorably as he grinned and whispered, "you want something to make you feel better?”

“No.”Carol answered firmly, expression hardening. 

Stewart dropped the arm that was caressing her shoulder and took a step back. 

“Are… are you here to break up with me?”He stammered, horrified.    
  
Carol felt her throat close up.  She shrugged.  Stuart's hand flew to his mouth in shock.  Then she shook her head.  

“No.”  Her voice cracked with a sob, choking on the word.   

“Oh, baby, baby.  Come here.”Stuart gathered her in his arms and pulled her close.He had to lift his chin up over her head, since he was pretty much just about as short as her.

Carol let Stuart's arms snake around her protectively.  Part of her wanted to push him away now, so that it didn't hurt as much later when he kicked her out on her own.  Part of her wanted them to last an eternity like this.  Carol held onto him until she was content enough to recognize that she was saying goodbye.  She leaned against his chest and breathed in the scent of his clothes.This house always smelled sterile, like plastic furniture covers and cleaning solutions.  

Stuart just smelled like 'home'.

“Whatever’s botherin’ you darlin’, we’ll fix it ok.”Carol nodded robotically. She found their reflection in the hallway mirror and tried to memorize the way she looked with Stuart's arms around her.  

 

Carol followed Stuart to his room and sat down on his bed. 

“I got somethin’ to tell ya.”She blurted out.

“Ok.”He waited.  She was silent for a long moment, picking at the charred scab on her thumb as she thought over what to say.  Stuart shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he grew impatient. 

“Well, _say it already!”_ He demanded in a nervous plea, biting his thumb to suppress the boom in his voice.

“I’m pregnant.”Carol told him flatly.

Stuart’s eyes grew wide. 

“... um...... M-my…”

“It’s yours.”Carol clarified, a little insulted that she even had to. 

Stuart nodded and began pacing around his room in a slow, steady stroll.His hat dropped to the floor at Carol’s feet as he ran his hands through his hair, obsessively.He mumbled phrases of shock, over and over, ‘oh my god’ and 'fuckin' shit!' on a loop, until he’d finally gone silent again, and Carol filled the silence before she could decide against it.

“You don’t have to be involved, you know.” 

Stuart spun around on his heels and stared at her with wide eyes. This was his way out, and she would give it to him, if he wanted it 

“I got no problems doing this on my own.”Carol continued sternly.Stuart took a tentative step towards her with a confused look on his face.“I don’t need anybody."  She clarified.  "And if I did, I'm sure my parents wouldn't leave me on my own.”  Stuart was now standing in front of her, eyes locked on her stomach, head tilted in curiosity like he didn't quite understand what was going on.There was something so sad behind his eyes.  She couldn't look at it.  She lowered her gaze to the immaculately vacuumed carpet and waited for his answer.“It’s your choice.”She finally whispered. 

“My choice.”He parroted, blinking away a tear that fell anyway.“Is it?”He questioned her,“I mean... do you even…” His voice trailed off. 

_'Do you even want me?’_.  Did she even want him there, or was he better off gone?  Would _everybody's_ life be better off if he just fucked off and disappeared forever?  It was a familiar conversation, something he had asked her many times before as they fell out of the clouds together on dark, smoke-filled nights. 

Stuart was on his knees now near the edge of the bed, arms dangling limply at his sides as if he dare not touch her. 

Carol ran her hands through his hair, and sighed, “Well... if you're willing, then so am I... if you _do want_ to be a part of this family…” Stuart let out a breath he’d been holding and collapsed against Carol’s legs as she continued to stroke his hair.She let her voice trail off as she listened to his shuddering breath in the quiet. 

“So?”She prompted, tracing tentative fingertips against the blue flannel around his shoulders, “What are you thinking?”

Stuart sat back against his heels and wiped at his eye with the back of his hand.“Um.”He sniffed.  Stuart picked up his hat, and put it back on, off, and back on again in a nervous fidget.“You think,” Stuart cleared his throat as it began to crack, _“you_ think… that I don’t want to be a real father for our baby, but you’re wrong.Babe, you’re so wrong.”He gripped her hands as he pleaded for her to believe him.

 _‘Our baby’,_ the words echoed in Carol’s head like an avalanche in an empty cavern.  

Stuart crawled up onto the bed and sat down next to Carol.Tears sprang to Stuart’s eyes again as he pressed his trembling lips together, “um... if you’ll have me, I _wanna_ help.I-I wanna be there.”

Stuart sat up straighter and cleared his throat.  “I know I ain’t much right now,” he began, eyes flickering down to her stomach briefly, “but, I’m gonna be somebody someday.Promise.”His smile widened and his ocean eyes sparkled with mad optimism.  “I can provide for us, all of us.  And any other kids we may have."  Carol felt instant relief flood through her, feeling cold tears slide down her cheeks as she listened to him vow his loyalty.

"We will live good, baby, I'll make _sure_ of it!  I’ll get any old jobs I can possibly do to put food on the table _while_ keepin’ you in designer perfume and fancy lipsticks,” he teased with a chuckle, squeezing her hands.Carol sobbed out a laugh and rolled her eyes. 

“Just,” Stuart’s voice grew serious again as his smile faded; his eyebrows knit together and his voice dropped down to a quivering whisper, “Please don’t do this without me.”  He begged, a hurt transparent on his face and in his shaking voice.  

Carol's heart broke as she watched his eyes drift down to her non-existent baby bump.

“If you’ll have me.”He repeated in a whisper. 

“Stuart," his head snapped up diligently to look her in the eyes, "I don't want to do this without you."  She clarified.  A look of instant relief washed over his features.  "I don't know how I even would."  Carol met his eyes seriously as a goofy smile began to spread across his face.  "I need you."  She promised.  

“Really?”Stuart’s eyes twinkled with a childlike innocence.  His eyes so rarely sparkled like thatanymore.

Carol nodded again and rested her forehead against his. 

“I do need you.”She clarified, opening her eyes just enough to be hypnotized by a sea of blue and drown in it.

“Not even half as much as I need you.”  He promised with a smile.  

A look of realization passed across his awestruck face and he practically jumped off of the bed. 

“We're gonna have a family... I’m gonna have a family of my own!”He yelped excitedly, "oh my God..." he laughed shakily, crying WAY more now than he had been moments before when he thought Carol was going to break up with him.“I’m… I’m gonna pass out… I’m gonna be a daddy!  Ha!”His expression paled in shock as he held onto the back of a chair for support.

Carol got up and glided over to him.She laid a hand against the side of his cheek and glided her thumb across his skin.

“You’re really happy?”She questioned his lopsided smile.

He swallowed thickly.  

“More than I have ever been in my whole life.”He promised, smile widening, eyes softening.  “Can I… oh boy… can I feel it?”Stuart asked, eyes wide with childlike wonder, hands hovering over her stomach, waiting for permission. 

Carol snorted.“You can’t feel anything yet, there’s not even a bump.”

“Still in there.”He justified, sinking down to his knees and leaning one ear against her flat stomach as he whispered:

“Hey baby, it's your Dad... You don't know me yet, but one day you’ll come into this world, and I’m going to love you more than anything I’ve ever loved before.”Stuart smiled to himself, “And I’m gonna be a great parent.”Stuart was whispering so quietly that Carol could hardly hear what he was saying, but what she could make out made tears spring to her eyes.“I’m gonna be a better father than my old man, I promise you that.”Stuart’s tone grew pained, “I swear it.”

Carol sunk to his level and grasped his hands.

She looked down at her stomach, then back up at her boyfriend.  She squeezed his fingers tightly.  Carol let a tear fall from the bridge of her nose as she looked back down towards her stomach.  
  
“I swear it too.”


	3. Plastic Rings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuart drags himself down to the pawn shop to pick out the perfect ring for Carol.

“Ho-ly fuck...”

“Yep, You’re tellin’ me.”

Stuart locked eyes with the store owner — a jolly looking older man with a big white beard, round stomach, and pieces of gold filling the space of two of his three missing teeth.

“Is this real?”Stuart questioned, turning the ring over and over in his hands, hypnotized by the way the light melted into the deep blue stone and crackled like flames. 

“Well, technically it’s lab-created… but it sparkles just like the real thing,” promised the twinkly-eyed man with the gold-toothed grin.

Stuart leaned his elbows against the display case, carefully studying the ring’s every edge and curve.“Wow.”

“Yep.Just like Lady Di’s.”The store owner was staring at Stuart expectantly. 

“What, the… Princess of England lady?”Stuart squinted his eyes at the man.

“Wales, but yes.”He grinned with a hearty chuckle and a humored shake of his head.

Stuart didn’t appreciate feeling so judged, but he shrugged it off and pulled out his wallet. 

“Yeah, my girlfriend loves her.”He mumbled distractedly as he counted the large bills, crisp from the ATM.

“Yep, she’s a national treasure, probably gonna do great things.”The store owner’s warm smile became stiff as he stared greedily down at the pile of $20, $50, and $100 bills.

Stuart stopped in his tracks after he processed what he’d just said. _“Fiancé_ … huh.”A warm feeling spread through his chest when he spoke the word out loud.“Well, hopefully.” He shrugged.

Stuart begrudgingly handed over his 3 crisp $100 bills, along with a pile of crumpled up, wrinkled $20s, and a folded up $50 that was _supposed_ to be for meth, but… he figured Carol was more worth it than half a gram of shit. 

“Ok!”The pawn shop owner clapped his hands together.“You’ve got just enough for the ring.” 

Stuart narrowed his eyes at the guy.“Uh… yeah… good.”Stuart took the ring from the guy’s outstretched hands and began to walk away. 

The guy called after him in an overly sweet voice, “You don’t want a box?” 

Stuart sighed and walked back to the counter, dumping the entire contents of his wallet on the counter, quarters and all, glaring at the shit-eating grin on the man in front of him. 

“How much?”

 

Stuart was leaning over the kitchen island, elbows propped up on the counter, ankles crossed over each other casually.He kept opening and closing the little black box in his hands.

It really was a beautiful piece, and Stuart only hoped that Carol thought so too.His heart pounded in his chest at the thought of giving it to her later today. 

Stuart let out a tiny chuckle and buried his face in his forearm, shaking his head with disbelief.   
  
“I’m gonna propose.Shit.”He laughed, muffled against his flannel shirt.  It almost felt like a dream, and Stuart was afraid he would wake up at any moment.  

His head snapped up when he heard a doorknob turn down the hall. 

Stuart straightened up and smoothed out his wrinkled shirt. 

Like following a demon’s shadow, Stuart waited with bated breath as his father’s footsteps drew closer and closer down the hall. 

“Good afternoon, sir.”  Stuart greeted coldly.  Strong volume, clear message.

Stuart’s father stalked his way to the fridge with heavy footing.He didn’t speak to his son, he didn’t even _look_ at his son.He just kept his chin cocked high above his collarbones and his narrowed eyes straight ahead.The tense in his shoulders was the only indication that this man even _acknowledged_ his son's existence, but as far as Mr. McCormick was concerned: for now, he had no son. 

Stuart’s foot began bouncing underneath him.  His eyes darted around the room.  He cleared his throat and looked back down at the counter, making eye contact with the warm blue stone.  

Stuart snapped the box shut, limiting its exposure to the tense and frigid air.

“Hey, Dad?”Stuart grumbled dryly.

Mr. McCormick screwed the cap back on the carton of juice and shoved it back in the fridge with excess force.  
  
“I got something important to tell you.”Stuart fidgeted as he spoke, spinning the black box between his fingers (no matter how loudly he could hear his father’s voice in his head demanding he stop fussing with shit and fucking sit still, you  _piece of shit...)_

Stuart smiled at the black box clutched tightly in his fist.  

“It’s really great news actually…” 

Mr. McCormick stomped out of the room with a slow, arrogant stroll, leaving Stuart to tread in the drawn out silence until he drowned.He bounced on his heels until he couldn’t stand the silence anymore. _“Dammit.”_ He cursed in a whisper.“Dad.”Stuart shot out of the kitchen doorway to follow his dad down the hall, voice rising with each call until he was practically begging.“Dad!” 

A rush of wind whipped him in the face as the bedroom door slammed shut and locked. 

Stuart walked back down the hall and sank into a kitchen chair with a nauseatingly tight ache in his chest. 

He pulled out the ring box one more time.He ran a light fingertip against the cold metal and sighed.

“I’m getting married.”


	4. Plastic Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuart asks for Carol's parents' blessing

_*knock knock knock*_

Stuart stepped back and stood before the massive house house.

It really was a beautiful house, light colored wooden doors with large ornamental panes of glass on each one.

Large, colorful potted plants adorned the sides of the front steps, and even the front lawn was nicely manicured—

“Can I help you?”

Stuart spun back around to face an older man with a short, red beard and smoothly styled red hair — a man who Stuart could only assume, must be Carol’s father.

“Oh, hi!”Stuart waved awkwardly before shoving his hands deep in his pockets.“I’m—” Stuart quickly ripped the hat off his head and held it tightly between his hands.“I’m Stuart, I'm your daughter’s boyfriend… I don’t think we’ve met before.”Stuart chuckled nervously and shuffled his feet. 

The man looked Stuart up and down.

“One moment… _Carol!”_

 _“She’s not here!”_ A female voice responded.“Who’s at the door?”The front door opened wider to reveal a middle-aged woman, about Carol’s height, practically Carol’s twin, with graying-brown hair and brown eyes, who carried herself with even more elegance and grace than her daughter.She furrowed her dark eyebrows as she eyed the scraggly young man in front of her.

“Carol’s boyfriend, _Stuart,_ apparently.”Carol’s father muttered under his breath. 

“Well, Carol’s not here right now, Laura picked her up just a few minutes ago.”Carol’s mother explained shortly, smiling tightly and beginning to close the door.

Stuart leaned towards the slowly closing space and spoke quickly before he had another door slammed in his face today, “Actually!I’m not here for Carol, I was hoping… that I could talk to both of you?” 

The two exchanged a look.

“Oh… ok…” Carol’s mom crossed her arms and nudged her husband subtly.The gesture made Stuart nervous. 

“… Um… may I come in?”Stuart gripped tightly onto his hat and smiled charmingly. 

Carol’s mom tipped up her chin and looked down at him, despite being an inch or two shorter.  

“Uh… sure.”Stuart’s dad stepped away from the door and invited Stuart inside.

“Thank you.”Stuart sighed in relief.He could feel a wave of nerves washing over his body as he stepped into the house.

“How is your Sunday going, sir.”  Stuart reached out a sturdy hand towards Carol’s father.  

The man took it tentatively and shook it limply.“Stuart… call me Tom.”He glanced at his wife skeptically.She returned the look with wide eyes.“This is my wife, Martha.”

“Martha.  How are you?”  Stuart leaned forward to hug Carol’s mom. 

“Uh…” Carol’s mom tensed up and gave Stuart one cold pat on the back.  “Fine, Stuart.”  She tried to be discreet, but Stuart caught the worried look she gave her husband.  

Stuart looked around at the hardwood floors covered in expensive rugs, and the crystal chandeliers that seemed to occupy every room in the house.  “You have a very beautiful house.”  Stuart smiled, admiring the antique side-table, a piece that Carol had told him was her mother’s favorite.  A small silence followed and Stuart gestured up at the massive but beautiful chandelier that hovered above the open doorway.  He felt like her parents could just _tell_ that he didn’t fit in at a house like this one…

“Thank you, it is.”Martha nodded coldly.She narrowed his eyes and looked him up and down“But you already knew that…” she questioned in an accusatory tone. 

“Uh, haha…”Stuart rubbed his neck and laughed uncomfortably, picturing all the times he’d snuck in and out of this house late at night.

A long silence washed over them, before Tom finally gestured towards the living room. 

“Shall we?” 

 

Stuart sat rigidly at the edge of the plush, floral armchair.He felt the edge of a little black box digging into his hip. 

Carol’s father sat across from him, on the plush, leather sofa, upholstered in a comforting cream color.  A fuzzy blanket was draped over the back, and a couple of marked books and half-finished crossword puzzles sat on the end table.  A fire was already burning in the fireplace before they sat down.  

The floral throw pillows matched almost exactly to the two fabric armchairs across from it.  The whole room was extremely put together.

A kitschy bird-themed clock ticked on from the kitchen.It was the only sound in the room, aside from the whistle of the tea kettle and the clinking of porcelain.The two men silently waited for Carol’s mother’s return. 

Stuart smiled at the man across from him.Tom only narrowed his eyes in response, sizing up the young man taking up space in his living room.If he had smiled back Stuart didn’t see it, but Tom’s hand was resting over his mouth, elbow propped up against the armrest in thought, so maybe he had. 

Stuart sat stiffly, back straight, knees together while Tom was leant back against the corner of the couch comfortably, ankle resting on his knee, and his arm stretched out across the back of the sofa.Stuart hunched over a little, further limiting the amount of space he was taking up in the chair. 

After a short while, Martha came back into the room with a small tray carrying three cups of tea and sugar. 

“We’re out of milk.”She grumbled curtly as she set the mugs down on the table.

“That’s fine, dear.”Tom muttered distractedly, eyes trained across the room.Stuart sure as shit was not about to complain either, but Tom still shot him a warning look just in case. 

“Here you go, Stuart.”Martha handed him a mug full of tea.  
  
“Thank you.”Stuart politely took a sip before setting it down on top of a coaster.

Martha passed another homemade-looking mug to her husband and kissed him in the top of his head.He smiled lovingly at her and squeezed her shoulder before she sat down next to him. 

“Now,” Martha took a sip of her tea, “what did you need to talk to us about?” 

Stuart took note of the way her French-tipped fingernails tapped relentlessly on the porcelain.

Stuart cleared his throat and shifted his weight. 

“Well…” what was he going to say?!He had practiced, but everything but white noise and static had left his brain.

“Is something serious going on?”Martha worried, continuing to tap on her mug.

“Is Carol in trouble?”Tom set down his mug and leaned forward in his chair. 

“What, like legal trouble?”Stuart joked with a nervous chuckle. 

_“Any…_ trouble…”Tom narrowed his eyes and stared Stuart down.For the first time, he actually looked scarier than his wife. 

Stuart wiped the smirk off his face. “No sir, no trouble.”He mumbled towards his fidgeting hands. 

“Then what?”Martha wondered, continuing to tap away on her mug.

“I… _ok, I’m just gonna come right out and say it_ … I would like… to ask for your blessing in askin' for your daughter’s hand.”The room fell completely silent.“In marriage.”

Stuart looked back and forth between their two stoic faces. 

“I told you, _I told you this would happen!”_ Martha whispered to her husband.

 _“How was I supposed to know that when I let him in!”_ He hissed back at his wife.

“Uh…” Stuart shifted in his seat uncomfortably, “listen, I know I ain’t — I know I’m not— the most eligible bachelor in South Park, but—”

 _"Why_ else _would he be here?"_ Martha continued to fight with her husband in hushed tones about a kid who was sitting right fuckin' in front of 'em.

_"I didn't think it was serious!"_

Martha rolled her eyes, _"Well, she talks about him nonstop, what did you think it was!"_

Stuart pulled the black box out of his pocket and opened it up. 

Carol’s parents fell silent.  

“You’re… you’re not kidding…” Martha gasped, wide eyes trained on the sparkling ring in the McCormick boy’s hands.

“I… love her…”Stuart smiled, feeling his eyes start to water as he said the words out loud.

“You do.” Tom questioned skeptically, though it sounds more like a statement. 

“Uh.  Yep.”Stuart’s foot began tapping nervously.

“And yet, you’ve never cared to get to know us before?”Tom’s words stopped Stuart in his tracks. 

“I’m… sorry—”

"Why now?"  Tom interrupted, "Why not wait?"  

Stuart was beginning to feel interrogated.

"I... I..."  

“She pregnant?”

“No!!”Stuart lied, badly, terrified of the look on Tom’s face right now.

Martha loudly cleared her throat, placing her hand on her husband's knee and turning her attention towards the jittery boy in her armchair.  “I’m sorry but…” Stuart’s stomach dropped down to his feet, “we… we can’t let you do this.”

“Um.Wh—why?”Stuart closed the box and set it down gently in his lap. 

Carol’s parents looked at each other with pitying looks on their faces.It made Stuart’s blood boil.

“Stuart…”Martha looked at him sadly, “I don’t think… you two are right for each other.”

Stuart tried to keep himself calm.“And why is that?” 

“Well, see… Carol… Carol has been _different_ lately, not like herself.  And well, she may be adapting her personality to fit yours while you two’ve been dating but… that can only last so long, and the real Carol would never… well, it seems like a phase.”

Stuart scoffed and shoved the ring box back in his pocket. 

“With all due respect,” Stuart tried his best to keep his voice level, “I think I know our relationship a little better than you do.Maybe!Maybe you just don’t know your own daughter.” 

“Hey, you watch that tone when you’re sitting in my house,” Tom warned sternly. 

“I bet you don’t even know what goes on in your daughter’s life while you two are at work, or shopping, or at _‘the club’._ ”Stuart jumped when Tom slammed his fist on the table.

“We know a lot more than she thinks we know!”His face reddened as he stared threateningly at Stuart. 

“Tom, don’t.” 

Tom shrugged off his wife.“You’re the one who’s been giving her drugs, right?”Stuart’s face flared red.“We’ve caught her high off her ass, twice!Could barely hold a conversation!SHE WAS NEVER LIKE THAT BEFORE SHE MET YOU!” 

“I think it’s time you go.”Martha stood up and pointed towards the door.

Stuart stood up, numb disappointment and hurtful anger whirling a fighting one another inside of him.

“I’ll go.”He sighed.“But just know that I _will_ ask your daughter to marry me, and I don’t need your permission.I was just being nice.”Tom and Martha’s eyes widened.“Thanks for the tea.”Stuart grabbed his hat and stormed towards the front door.

“GO AHEAD, ASK HER, WE’LL FORBID IT!”Tom called after him furiously. 

_“She’s 21 years old!”_ Stuart spun around angrily.“God, you think she’s rebelling?D’you ever stop and think maybe you’ve just never let her be herself, _her entire life?”_

“STUART, GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE!”Martha pointed towards the door with fire and tears in her eyes. 

“I meant no disrespect.”Stuart turned the knob.“Carol means the world to me, but if you still intend on keeping us apart,” Stuart looked them both in the eyes one last time before he slammed the door behind him, “then fuck you both.” 


	5. Plastic Pavement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol runs into Stuart as he's leaving her house.

“Damn.  I can’t believe Stuart was really so cool about the whole thing, I really thought he would walk.”Laura turned down Carol’s street in her 1990 Toyota 4Runner. 

“Yeah, me too.”Carol agreed honestly.“You know, he actually got down on his knees, and promised the baby he’d be a good father?”

“Barf.”  Laura scoffed. 

“No, it was sweet.”Carol smiled.  She fiddled with the blister on her thumb, which had started to peel.

“...So.  Did you hear about Liane Cartman?” Laura twisted in her seat a little bit, still keeping her eyes on the road.

“Who?”  Carol muttered distractedly.   

“You know, that football-groupie girl, the one who was a freshman when we were seniors.”Laura explained. 

“Short?  Brown hair?”  Carol questioned.

“That's the one.” 

“What about her?”

She paused.  “She’s dating my ex boyfriend.”Laura grumbled in disgust.

Carol waited, expecting there to be more to the story.  When there wasn’t, she shrugged indifferently.  “So?  Why do you care?” 

Laura scoffed and flipped her hair.  “I _care_ because she’s seventeen, _and_ still in high school, and he’s disgusting for it.” 

Carol shrugged again.  “That’s on him then if he wants to go on datin’ a seventeen-year-old.” 

Laura snorted.  “Yeah, him and half of South Park.  That girl is gonna wind up pregnant one of these days, just watch—”

“STOP THE CAR!” 

Laura’s car jerked to a stop in front of Carol’s house just in time to see Stuart running down the steps, hunched over, arms folded, head down like a wounded animal. 

Before the car could even completely come to a stop, Carol jumped out of the passenger seat and jogged over, ignoring Laura’s startled protests. 

"Stuart!"  

Stuart's head snapped towards Carol's voice.  

"Oh, Carol.  I'm sorry, I was just leaving."  He apologized defeatedly.      

Carol opened and shut her mouth, thoroughly confused.  "Leaving?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later, ok?"  Stuart shuffled his feet against the pavement.  But he didn't leave.  

"...Is something wrong?"  Carol asked, worried.  

"Hm?  Well, no, nothing I'm not used to, so..." He chuckled pathetically.  Stuart's mouth twitched tightly, a stiff smile vanishing as quickly as it appeared. 

“Babe, what happened?”  Carol worried sternly, running her hand down his arm comfortingly.  

“What.”Stuart mumbled, playing dumb.

“What do you mean ‘what’, you look upset.”Carol criticized.

_"Yeah, do I?"_  Stuart snapped.  It took Carol by surprise.  

She took a step back and scowled at him, insulted. 

Stuart sighed and shook his head, shoulders falling, gaze glued to the pavement.

She was about 30 seconds away from completely telling him off when he gently laid his hands on either side of her waist and started to cry.  

Carol's hands hovered over his shoulders motionlessly.  She remained in that state of stasis even as he glanced away from her and calmed himself down.  When he finally stood up straight again, Carol felt herself unfreeze.  

"Babe.  What's wrong?"  Carol traced the muscles along his tense jaw.  Stuart's eyes squeezed shut at the brush of Carol's fingertips, before fluttering open to a numb expression. 

“It’s nothing.  Kind of a funny story.”Stuart forced a couple of unnerving laughs, looking off to the side, not meeting her eyes.“I just thought I should meet your _fucking asshole parents,_ since we're all about to be a happy family and all, but”  Stuart shrugged in a detached way, "they just sort of hate me I guess..."  His voice trailed off pitifully.  "Sorry."  

Carol glared at him, pursing her lips together as she debated whether she should just hug him or hit him.“You shouldn’t have gone without me.”She pointed out, irritated.

“I’m sorry.”He laughed again, this time with tears in his eyes.“I just thought," he shrugged sadly, before lowing his voice and admitting in a quivering whisper, "well, I hoped they would like me...”

Carol melted.  That face.  Those eyes.  He looked shattered.  It was enough to viciously rip her heart in two.

“Oh… I’m sure they will, baby, one day.”Carol promised gently, cupping his cheek in her hand.

“Ha.Yeah.Well, I just may have _completely_ blown it because they did not like me, _at all._ ”Stuart tried to smile, but it just looked empty on his face.  

"Well, why did you go there all by yourself?"  She questioned, before realization came to her.  Carol gasped, covering her mouth with her hands and taking a step back.  “You didn’t tell them!!”She accused, voice muffled behind her hands.

“Relax, I didn’t tell them.”Stuart muttered, running his fingers through his hair and re-adjusting his hat. 

Carol didn’t appreciate being told to relax, but she let it go this time.

“You shouldn’t have done it without me.”She repeated, shifting her weight. 

“Had to.”Stuart muttered before spitting onto the sidewalk behind him.

 _“Charming…”_ Carol heard Laura scoff as she stepped out of the car. 

“Hey Laura.”Stuart waved half-heartedly.Laura half-waved back.

Stuart took a step closer, leaned in, and spoke in a low voice.  “I went there to ask if I could marry you.” 

Time had frozen.  Carol wasn't entirely sure she had heard him right, but either way she nearly passed out.

Carol took a step back to look at Stuart, with his lopsided grin and his sad eyes.

“You… what?”She breathed, pulse racing.

He grinned dopily.  “I… actually went to your house to ask for their blessing,” Stuart started fidgeting with something in his jacket pocket, “they wouldn’t fucking give it to me."  He paused.  "I showed them the ring and everything…”.

Carol watched in disbelief as he pulled a little black box out of his pocket and turned it over in his hand.

“Jesus…”Carol gasped.

"Yeah."  He agreed flatly.  

Stuart was watching her carefully, head tilted and gaze held steady, while the little black box turned in his palm.   After a few moments of staring thoughtfully, Stuart bit down on his lip, and a wickedly charming smile lit up his eyes.   

 _“Fuck it.”_   He whispered excitedly, getting down on one knee and turning his hat around on his head. 

Stuart cracked open the ring box to reveal a petite, sparkling blue stone with a little diamond crown surrounding it.

Carol froze, “Holy shit…”

 _“Holy shit.”_ Laura jumped off from where she sat cross legged on the hood of her car and ran to peer over Carol’s shoulder at the ring.  Carol could only stand and stare slack-jawed at the beautiful piece.  Stuart exhaled calmly before frantically digging for something in his pocket. 

Stuart pulled out a little piece of folded up paper and gently smoothed it out against the pavement with shaking hands.His lips mouthed some of the words as nodded and he re-read the handwritten words scratched into the crumpled paper.

Carol saw Laura stare at her out of the corner of her eye before backing up towards her car.  Carol locked eyes with her blank expression briefly, before turning back to gawk at her jittering boyfriend.  

Stuart took a deep breath and locked onto her gaze, beaming.

“Carol,” Carol nodded dumbly, “This is… not the way I wanted this to go down, trust me,” he laughed, “I was hoping your parents would love me as much… well as much as I’ve grown to love you, there I said it!"  Stuart grabbed Carol’s hands and inched forward on the ground.  “I know we’ve only been datin' a few months, and I haven’t said ‘I love you yet’, or nothin' at all like that.That was a mistake, on my part.I meant to say it the moment I met you.”Stuart’s voice grew soft and tender.“I loved you then, and I love you even more now than that day you yelled at me to move my truck at the gas station.”Stuart chuckled.

“You were taking up two spaces with the damned thing.”Carol laughed through happy tears.

Stuart stared up at Carol, tears welling in his eyes.He tried to speak again but he got choked up, pressing his trembling lips together.“I have never…” he continued, voice low and steady, “met anybody in my life who’s made me feel as safe, or as wanted”Stuart ducked his head, face contorting, “or _loved…”_ he sobbed.  Carol traced her thumb back and forth against his knuckles.  Stuart took a deep breath and looked up at her, “with you I’m actually fucking happy, and you make me feel like I’m not so alone.”Stuart folded up the piece of paper and shoved it back in his pocket, sniffling.

Laura took a few more steps back, looking back and forth between the happy couple. 

“So?”  He fidgeted with the ring box nervously, “I know we don’t have your parent’s blessing yet, but if you wanna wait — all I need is a promise—”

“Ask me.”Carol whispered.“Just ask me.”She repeated with a giddy smile, biting her lip and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Stuart grinned up at her.“Will you marry me?”

“Yes!No shit, I’ll marry you, yes, yes, yes!”Stuart stood up and spun Carol around joyously.He held on to her as her feet gently touched down on the pavement.“I wouldn’t wanna marry anybody else.”Carol promised before kissing him like it was the end of the world. 

She giggled and cried as he slipped the ring on her finger.“It’s like Princess Diana’s.”She gasped.

“That’s what the guy said!”Stuart laughed breathlessly, tears sparkling in his sapphire eyes.“Now it’s obviously smaller, and it’s not real — yet — but I promise… Carol I promise,” Stuart cupped her face in his hands and stared into her eyes with fiery determination, “one day when we have a nice house in a good community, and it’s filled with luxuries, and we want for nothin’ and our kids could not be happier,” Stuart smiled angelically as tears fell from his wildfire eyes, “I will buy you _a hundred_ rings, real ones — from real a jeweler too!And I’ll never have to set foot in a pawn shop again.”Carol laughed.Stuart ran a trembling hand through her hair before resting his forehead against hers and whispering,

“one day we will have it all.”

 

Carol was over the moon, she kept staring down at her ring finger and echoing .

After the engagement was official, Carol waved Laura over from where she leant against her car door to look at the masterpiece.

“Just like Diana’s.”She noted. 

“I know!”Carol giggled.

“Congratulations.”Laura hugged them both, though her tone was flat. 

After a few more goodbye kisses Stuart was on his way, having agreed that it was probably best for Carol to tell her parents without him there (maybe they’d see how much they mean to each other once they saw how happy she was.And she truly was).

Carol stared after her boyfriend, watching him practically skip down the street before breaking out into a run and cheering with a little _‘woohoo! I’m getting married!!’_

Carol shook her head and smiled, before turning to face her best friend.  
  
“Ok.” Carol put her hands on her hips and sighed.“What.”

“…Nothing.”Laura lied.

Carol rolled her eyes.“I’ve known you since fourth grade, I think I know when there’s a vibe going on.”  

Laura twirled her puka shell necklace absently.“It’s just… it just seems a little fast—”

Carol looked at her with narrowed eyes.  “I’m having his baby, Laura...” 

“Right!  No, I know, I’m just saying... would you still be marrying him if that wasn’t the case?” 

Carol looked down at her ring.  She thought about Stuart's smile, and his laugh; the way he always knew how to make her smile and laugh with whatever crazy fucking thing he needed to do or say to make it happen.  The way he holds onto her all night, the way he runs his fingers through her hair and whispers nice things, and means 'em.

“I think so.”She beamed at Laura. 

Laura remained unconvinced.“It just sounded like… like, maybe, he needs you _more_ than you might need him.”Laura shrugged.

Carol shook her head.“No.”  She declared definitively.  Her hand flew to her stomach subconsciously.“I promise you Laura, I have _never_ been in love like this before.”

"Have you ever been in love _ever?"_  Laura joked flatly, though there was something serious about the way she said it.  

Carol retreated a few steps, wounded.  

Laura sighed apologetically and stepped towards her tearful friend.

"Carol—"

"I need you to support me."

Laura lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Carol before the tears could fall from her eyes.  "I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm sorry, I do support you, really, I just wanted to make sure you were doing this for the right reasons." 

"He's the father of my child."  Carol repeated. 

Laura pulled back from Carol and nodded her head solemnly.  "I know."

"He's part of this family."  Carol traced her non-existent baby bump.

Laura tried desperately one more time.  "Hon, you _can_ have a coparented family, people do it all the time, my parents did."  Carol shook her head sadly.  "Ok."  Laura sighed, tucking her blonde hair behind her ears.   

“We need him.”  Carol looked down at her stomach.  “Maybe he does need me more, but that doesn’t mean anything at all, 'cept that I can’t just leave him because, well…” 

“He needs you…” Laura finished.

“He needs me.”Carol shrugged sadly.“But I promise, I would _not_ be doing this if I wasn’t 100% sure.You _know_ that about me...Remember the prom dress fiasco?”

Laura smiled.“You mean how it took you four months to find the perfect dress, _a year_ before the actual prom?”  She laughed, teary eyed.

“I had to be sure.”Carol chuckled, swiping a tear off of Laura's cheek.“And I’m sure about him.”She insisted seriously. 

Laura stared back with searching eyes.“Well, as long as you’re happy, and as long as you’re _sure,”_ Laura grabbed Carol’s hands and squeezed them, “then I am happy for you too.”

"Really?"  Carol beamed. 

"Really."  Laura promised.  

Carol swung their hands absently as she smiled at her best friend with tears in her eyes. 

"Ugh.  Stupid hormones."  Carol cursed, wiping her eyes.  The girls giggled, Laura wiping a tear of her own. 

“So how are you gonna tell them?”Laura whispered ominously.

"Which part?"  Carol joked darkly. 

"Any of it..."  Laura answered seriously. 

Carol felt her stomach drop.She walked over to lean against the hood of Laura’s car.

 _“Shit.”_ She muttered, staring at the concrete beneath her sneakers. 

Carol felt the cars weight redistribute as Laura leaned against the hood next to her, exhaled forcefully and commiserated.

“Fucking shit…”


	6. Plastic Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna give fair warning that this chapter HURTS.
> 
> Carol and Stuart confront their parents about their future.

Carol’s fingers trembled as she turned the knob on her front door.

“Mom?Dad?”She called into the house.Her parents were already sitting in the parlor,books closed and resting on the nightstand, hands in their laps, backs straight.They appeared to be waiting for her.

The stood as soon as she entered the room. 

“Uh… c-can Laura stay?”Carol avoided the subject cowardly.Carol’s parents shared a look.

“That’s it?”Carol’s mom spat disbelievingly, "That's all you have to say—?" 

Carol’s eye was drawn to her father’s wedding ring, which glimmered in the light while he placed a calming hand on his wife’s shoulder. 

Carol pulled down the sleeve on her red flannel, hiding the hands clasped tightly behind her back.

“Uh-huh.”  Carol nodded rapidly.

Tom’s face scrunched in confusion.“Ok...Sure she can, we’re having chicken for dinner — are you sure there’s nothing else you wanted to talk to us about?Because” Tom scoffed, ”if you can’t produce _stimulating conversation topics,_ I’m _sure_ we’ve got some ideas—”

“I know he was here.”  Carol interrupted, watching as her father's lips screwed together tightly at the mention of Stuart.  "He told me he was here."  She clarified, meekly.  

“So?”  Martha prodded.  “Did he tell you _why?”_

Carol nodded.  

 _“And?”_ Martha raised her voice.   

Carol tried to speak but it just came out as a series of shuttering breaths and ‘um’s. 

Before Carol could respond, Martha lurched forward and ripped Carol’s left hand out from behind her back.  Synthetic, acrylic nails scratched against Carol's skin as she fought to be released.  Carol screamed in protest and tried to yank her hand out of her mother’s talon grip, but it was too late.  

Both her parents’ eyes went wide, and their faces went red.

There was the engagement ring, right on the same shaking hand as that tiny pipe burn.

 _“How could you?”_ Martha spit venomously.  

The look of utter hurt and betrayal on her parents’ faces caused Carol to burst out crying instantly.  Her body jolted as Martha dropped Carol's hand forcefully, disgustedly. 

It was the ultimate disrespect, glittering in the chandelier light right next to nicotine colored nails and that damn pipe burn on her thumb.  

Laura froze awkwardly, halfway between comforting Carol and running out the front door. 

“Why _him?”_ Carol’s dad clenched his jaw.  "There's a reason, and  _I want to hear you say it!”_ He roared accusingly.

“Everybody calm down, _please!”_ Carol pleaded through tears.

“He’s trash!”Martha announced matter-of-factly, tossing her hands in the air.“You don’t have to settle for him, Carol.There will be other boys!”

“I love _him,_ _obviously!”_ Carol seethed condescendingly,“That can’t be _too_  hard to understand!” 

_“ARE YOU PREGNANT?!”_

A dense quiet, thick like a fog, settled over the house.Tom’s roaring words rang in Carol’s ears as she fought the urge to throw up. 

“Um.”She heard her breath coming out in quick bursts but her body was numb.She was drowning, but she didn’t feel anything.“C-can we sit down?”She gestured towards the living room.

“Answer the question.”Tom’s body language stiffened.

Carol’s jaw was shivering despite the steady warmth of the house.She kept opening her mouth wider and wider, but she didn’t say it.She didn’t _want_ to say it.Carol’s eyes drifted down towards the floor between her parent’s feet, and tears fell from her frozen, wide eyes.

“Yes.”She admitted, holding her breath as she hissed the wretched truth through her teeth.“Y-yes.” 

Her parents gasped.Tom turned towards a nearby wall and leaned against it, heavily.  Carol didn't dare make another sound. 

“…Well, I hope you’re very happy with yourself.”Martha uttered coldly, breaking the silence.

“Mom!”

“Martha, don’t.”  

“I’m just saying!”

The silence settled again.Carol’s mother was still scowling her her, but Carol’s eyes were on her father. 

“I’m sorry.”She whispered, hoping that he would just turn and look at her, talk to her, something. 

Tom sighed shakily and pushed away from the wall.  

“Go sit down.”

 

Tom led everyone to the living room.A warm and welcoming fire was already crackling in the fireplace.Laura offered to get glasses of water and tissues, anything to feel useful.Tom insisted he do it, probably for that very same reason.

Once everyone was settled, Carol opened her mouth.

“I’m keeping it.”  She declared flatly. 

“That’s fine.”  Tom sighed calmly. 

“It’s _his?”_ Martha questioned, a small amount of disgust in her voice.

“Stuart’s.”Carol stared at her pointedly.“His name is Stuart, and yes, it’s his.”Martha straightened her back, but otherwise remained silent.

“Ok.”Tom pinched the bridge of his nose, “we can figure this out."  He pointed in Carol’s direction, eyes still squeezed tightly.“You will get a job _tomorrow._ You can stay here as long as you need until you get on your feet, save on rent and babysitting, but you will buy your own baby supplies.Diapers, food, toys, all of it.”Tom rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his forehead exhaustedly.“You _will_ set aside at least 10% of your paycheck every month into a savings account, do you hear me?We will help you _to an extent_ but you will have to help yourself, understood?”

Carol nodded numbly. 

“The boy.Does he know?”Martha tipped her chin up, jaw set.

“Stuart.”Carol glared at her mother.“He knows.”

Carol’s parent’s looked at each other disappointedly.“I knew it.I knew it!”Martha hissed.

"He lied to us.”Tom shook his head, jaw jutting forward tensely.Her father’s disappointment almost hurt Carol more than her mother’s little jabs. 

Carol stared down at her folded hands ashamedly.She hadn’t known Stuart had outright lied to them…

Laura placed a hand over Carol’s and squeezed it comfortingly.

“This would have been a whole lot easier if he didn’t know.”Tom groaned.

Carol looked at her father pointedly.  “…Why?” 

“Because, as part of the deal, he is not to set foot in this house.”Carol felt her stomach drop.“You are not to go see him, he is not to come here, he can co-parent this baby but that’s it, and you are _definitely not going to marry him!”_

“Why not?  Who says?”  Carol pouted like a child. 

Tom’s face reddened.“Because _I_ said so, because it is _my_ house, and because I won’t have my daughter _or_ my grandchild around that man!”

"Why?  What's so bad about him?"  Carol challenged aggressively. 

Tom fumed and sputtered.“I can’t trust a word he says anymore, he sat right in that chair and lied right to our _faces!”_

Carol scoffed defensively.“Well what do you expect, when you treat him like shit?”

 _“He is shit!”_   Tom bellowed, shaking, infuriated.

 _“You don’t know him!”_ Carol screamed back. 

“I know he’s a _liar!”_ Tom stood up and began pacing around.

“Oh, like you’ve never lied a day in your life?”Carol shot back.

 _“Watch it…”_ Tom growled warningly.

“You guys scared the shit out of him, what do you think he’d expect you to do if he told you I was pregnant?!”Carol got up out of her own chair.

“Carol, _sit down.”_ Martha demanded with a growl. 

Tom stormed over to Carol so quickly that she did fall back into her chair, cowering up at him like a small child.  Tom stood above her, shaking, furious, knuckles gripped tightly onto either armrest of her chair.  

“Tom!”Martha chided, a small amount of fear could be detected in her voice as she rose from the couch. 

Tom’s mouth pressed into a thin white line until he finally shoved himself back from Carol, rattling her chair in the process so that it made a deafening squeaking noise against the hardwood floor.Carol watched her dad stomp off to the kitchen and begin slamming drawers and banging pots and pans.She jumped with every bang, eyes glued to the kitchen doorway.

 _“Fuuuck!”_ Tom roared, shaking an entire drawer full of utensils. 

“Laura I think you should leave.”Martha stood up.

“O-ok.”Laura looked at Carol for any indication of what to do, but Carol kept her eyes trained in the kitchen.“Ok.”Laura repeated, grabbing her coat off the back of her chair and running out the front door.

“Tom, will you just _stop!”_ Martha screamed, marching into the kitchen.

A small tear rolled down Carol’s numb expression.  

“We have to make dinner don’t we?” ***Slam*** “I’m just,” ***slam*** “getting dinner started,”  ***slam, slam, slam*.**

“Enough!”Martha roared.The kitchen fell silent, until Tom’s footsteps could be heard stomping across the tile floor towards the living room. 

“You ever do drugs with him?”Tom stopped in front of Carol’s chair and leaned over her. _“HUH?!ANSWER ME!”_

Carol’s mouth opened and closed.

"Oh my God..."  Martha gasped from the doorway. 

Carol’s eyes shifted from her father to her mother, over and over again. 

“Don’t look at her, look at me! _I’m_ talking to you!”Tom grabbed Carol’s face between his hands.“He gave you drugs, _didn’t he?”_ Tom slammed his hand against the brick fireplace next to Carol’s head _“DIDIN’T HE?!”_

“A few times.”  Carol admitted, sobbing into his hands.  Tom dropped his hands and turned away from her.  

Carol leaned forward in her chair and wept.

“Wh-what was it?”Martha sobbed and hiccuped from the doorway.

“M-meth.”Carol panted, beginning to hyperventilate.Tom dropped his head in his hands, back still turned on his daughter.

Martha slammed her palm hard against the doorway.“WHY?!”She wailed, banging the walls with each scream. “WHY, WHY, WHY?!With your family history? _All your father’s brothers?_ You’ve _seen_ their lives, their families’ lives, how could you DO THIS?!You’ve SEEN how this breaks up a family, how could you DO this to us?!Look at your father, how could you do this to him?!”

“Martha…” Tom groaned exhaustedly.

 _“I’m sorry!”_ Carol bawled, feeling like a child as she pleaded for forgiveness,“ _I won’t do it again!”_ She was begging for her father to look at her, but she could only catch a glimpse of the side of his face. 

Martha laughed with a cruel amusement.“Yeah, _NO SHIT_ now that you have a baby on the way…” Tom exhaled shakily and placed one hand on his hip.Carol looked wide-eyes between her parents.Martha shook her head, “you can’t stay with him, it’s too dangerous!”She demanded, “period.”

Carol closed her eyes, tears falling faster than ever.She shook her head slowly, moaning and whimpering quietly under her breath.

“YES, CAROL!”Her mom screeched deafeningly.

Carol shook her head again, faster this time.  "I can't," Carol whined, "I don't _want_ to, I CAN'T—!"

“Martha, leave her alone," Carol’s eyes snapped open at the sound of her father's voice, "it’s done.”

The intense calmness in Tom’s voice was unsettling, but he had finally turned around again, and his expression appeared to have softened. 

Carol began to smile, crying out of gratitude.  She was about to thank him when he spoke again.  

“She’s clearly made her choice.”

Carol froze.“Wh-what?”She whimpered in confusion.

“Tom…”Martha inched forward carefully. 

“She’s made her choice,” Tom turned halfway towards his daughter, “it’s out of our hands...I won’t watch her destroy her life, I can’t do it.So, good luck with my grandchild.”Tom locked eyes with Carol and offered her a steady hand.Carol sat there, cowering against the back of the armchair, eyes darting from his face to his hand.

“Are you… serious?”She whispered, jumping as Tom roughly grabbed a hold of her hands and pulled her out of her chair, throwing her towards the middle of the room. 

“Tom!”Martha scolded, reaching towards Carol protectively.Carol tripped on the rug, but she caught herself before she could fall.

Tom’s breath heaved from his chest as a sneering smile spread across his face.  

“Get out.”Tom ordered calmly. 

Carol stared back wordlessly, in horror and shock.Tom continued to speak matter-of-factly as Carol tried her best to process what was happening.She caught a glimpse of her mother’s painfully contorted face, before turning back to face her father as he continued to rattle on. 

“Yeah.”He shrugged,“Consider yourself done.Cut off.I don’t ever want to _see_ you, or hear another lie come out of your fucking mouth ever again. _And God help him if I ever see that man again.”_ Tom was shaking slightly, but he held it together.The eye of the storm.

“But… you can’t mean that, Mom, he can’t mean that!”Carol turned towards her mother for help, who only turned up her nose, maintained her composure, and continued to cry silently. 

“I can promise you, I do.”Tom sent her a knowing look.Carol felt her shoulders drop.His family has cut off relatives before: cousins, aunts, uncles… anybody who won’t help themselves does not get help from the family, that was the rule.It was the only thing able to really turn her cousin around, but these circumstances were different.

“No, This… this is different,” Carol explained calmly, voice steadily rising to a screeching panic with every word, “he’s the father of my child, he’s not — we’re not even _touching_ the stuff anymore, we _agreed_ to it, we can stop any time we want—!”

“You know how this ends, Carol.”Martha spoke in a steady, low voice.“If you want help, we’ll help you.But we can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help themself.And we won’t watch you destroy yourself."  Martha's face contorted again, before flattening out into an icy poise.  "We can’t do it.”

“I’m _clean!_ Mom, I’m clean, I’ll never do it again I _promise!”_ Carol wailed, throat sore and voice breaking.

“No.”Martha interrupted coldly.“You _can’t_ possibly promise that as long as you’re married to an addict.”Martha tilted her chin down and stared darkly into Carol’s eyes.   _“You’re not strong enough.”_

Carol’s breath heaved shallowly like the wind had been knocked out of her.  Her vision clouded over and she blinked rapidly as heavy tears fell from her eyes.  She felt like she might faint.  Carol doubled over and grabbed onto the wall for support.

“Go on.”Tom gestured towards the door with a dangerous calm.“Why are you still standing here?  You wanted to go?  So go!”

Before Carol could protest she was swept off her feet, carried by her elbows so tightly she felt like she would bruise. 

“Tom, be careful!”Martha snapped at him.

“I’m being careful.”He grumbled as he carried his daughter to the front door.

Carol's feet shuffled underneath her, not fully touching the ground.

Tom set her down in front of the door and stepped away.“Go on.”Carol looked between her parents, frightened and confused. 

“You know the drill:  Don’t expect anything from us.”Martha uttered breathlessly, tears filling her eyes as she turned her nose up at her daughter. 

“Mom…” Carol cried.Martha sobbed into her hand and headed back towards the kitchen.“Daddy.”Carol turned towards her dad.“Please.”

“Go!’He roared, appearing more mad now than ever.He opened the front door and gave her a light shove through.“Come back for your stuff when we’re not here.”He muttered callously. 

“I don’t understand!”Carol pleaded with him. 

Tom broke down.He fell to his knees, covering his face with his hands.“I CAN’T DO IT!”He wailed into his hands, “I can’t watch you kill yourself, I can’t watch your kids watch you kill yourself, and I won’t watch _him_ destroy you!”

“He won’t, Daddy I promise!”Carol fell to her knees on the other side of the door.

“He will.”Tom stated factly.Tom rose from his knees, cheeks wet from tears, face stoic.“Call us if you need us to take custody of the kid.”

“Wait—!”

Before Carol could protest, the front door slammed in her face, locking abruptly behind her. 

“Wait.No.”Carol panted, jiggling the door handle violently.“No!Wait!”She pounded on the door with her palms.“Wait!” 

Carol heard the door unlatch one last time.The door opened a crack, only enough for her father to stick his nose through and whisper.“Goodbye, sweetheart.I really hope to see you again.”

Carol’s air caught in her throat.Her father sniffled as he closed the door and locked it one more time. 

“No…” She sobbed quietly, resting her palm on the door and leaning heavily against it.  “Wait…

 

By the time Laura rolled up in her 4runner, Carol had calmed back down to a comfortable numb, though her breath hiccuped and gasped, not quite getting the memo.

“Carol.”  Laura cried, jumping out of the driver’s side with the car still running.  Carol fell into her arms and wept.  “Come on, let’s go.  Are you hungry, did you eat?”  

Carol shook her head. 

“We’ve got pizza.Let’s just hope my brothers don’t eat the slices I saved for you.”

“Thank you.”Carol nodded.A thought struck her as she realized she hadn’t even had a chance to have her mother’s cooking one last time…

“I’ll lend you pajamas, and we have a spare toothbrush…” Laura offered awkwardly. 

“Thank you.”  Carol parroted.  

Laura hugged her again.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to Stuart’s?”  She offered gently, “I don’t mind taking you after we eat?” 

“No, no, I just wanna go to bed, I don’t wanna have to retell it to another person right now…”

Laura nodded solemnly.Truth be told, Carol didn’t think she could really look at him right now.She still loved Stuart, but she couldn’t face the boy who broke up her family. 

Let’s be real, Carol had broken up her own damn family, and the thought made her want to throw herself off a bridge.She wondered who would take her side, or if anybody would… _wait!_  

“Wait!” 

Laura snapped to attention, hand frozen on her driver’s side door.

“What?!”Laura demanded, slightly panicked.

“Can we actually make one stop on the way?”Carol pleaded gently.She didn’t want to inconvenience Laura, but there was something she needed to do.

Laura sighed in relief, concerned by Carol’s alarming outburst.“Yeah sure, get in.”She waved Carol into the car and turned over the engine.

Carol took one last look at her house and stepped in the car.She would be back tomorrow to collect her things, but who knew how long until she’d be back after that.Maybe, when the hurt wears away, she’d realize she’s really pissed and never come back out of spite, or at least not until she hears an apology.Like Tom had said, Carol had made her decision, but she didn’t make it all on her own…

Her childhood house disappeared in the rearview windows.  

She watched it shrink smaller and smaller, twirling the small sapphire ring around her finger.

—————————————————————————————————————

Stuart practically danced through his front door.  

The house was completely dark, but he could see a blue light from the end of the hall flickering from his mother’s bedroom.More importantly: his father’s truck wasn’t in the driveway. 

Stuart turned and skipped on his feet, humming to himself romantically as he made his way down the hall.

When he finally reached the end of the hallway, he creaked open the door a little bit further.

His mother was already in bed.It was only 6:00.

Stuart knocked on the door.“Can I come in?”

Mrs. McCormick lolled her head to the side and smiled at him sleepily.“Yes, come in.”She drawled. 

Stuart glanced at the dresser as he passed it, noting an open bottle of Valium — little blue pills visible from the bottle that was stuffed to the top with tranquilizers. 

Most nights, Stuart’s mother had trouble sleeping.

Stuart nodded towards the bottle of pills.  “Take a little extra there today, did ya?” 

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping.”She grumbled defensively, pulling the blankets up over her shoulders. 

“Alright, well, don’t overdo it.”Stuart suggested awkwardly, like he was one to talk.  She glared at him judgmentally.

Stuart’s mother has had problems her whole life — She'd grown up with undiagnosed Bipolar II, severe anxiety, insomnia, and mild OCD.Never medicated, never seen a therapist… she was shamed by her family for her outbursts and panic attacks, and she was teased by other kids for her ticks and “weird” coping behaviors.  Whenever she would reach out for help, she was told she was crazy, and that it was all in her head.  She was so scared of drugs and alcohol growing up that she had learned to accept the pain without even self-medicating.It wasn’t until 35 that she ever even went to a proper doctor to get a helpful prescription or started her weekly therapy visits. 

She had actually broken down in the doctor’s office, weeping out of gratitude and relief; for once in her life she felt the validation and love she’d craved for 35 years.Stuart was only about 3 years old then, but he remembers how rough of a time it was getting her acclimated to just the right dosages of just the right brands of just the right medicines.

Her life was so different after treatment, that she never wanted her kids to feel deprived of the help they needed.That’s why as soon as Stuart turned 4 and started exhibiting any hint of reckless energy, she brought him right to the doctor to be prescribed ADHD medicine.His dad was right on board, if it meant his kid would shut up and sit fucking still for once, the little shit. 

The doctors stopped prescribing the pills as soon as it was determined that they were actually having the opposite effect. 

That didn’t change the fact that by age 8, Stuart and his friends were buying Ritalin off the ‘spaz-kid’ who actually _did_ need the meds, but traded them for baseball cards because he didn’t like the way the pills made him feel sleepy all day.

She was only looking out for her son.That’s more than Stuart could say for his dad. 

Speaking of…

“Hey where’s Dad?”Stuart cleared his throat and leaned casually against the dresser. 

“He had to work late, should be here by 6:30.Did you eat?We both just took care of ourselves.”

He hadn’t, but he figured there would be nothing in the fridge even if he looked.  

Stuart strolled casually over to the other side of the room and sat on the edge of his mother's bed, building up the courage to tell her the good — yet shocking — news. 

“… I’m getting married.”Stuart blurted out in a whisper.

“That’s great!”His mother slurred.

“And I’m having a baby.”Stuart chuckled uncomfortably. 

“Oh…”Stuart’s mother turned her attention back to the television, that was the end of it. 

“So… do you think you’ll come?To the wedding?”Stuart felt like a child, sitting at the edge of his mother’s bed, wringing his hands nervously.

She sat up slightly and rubbed her hand across her forehead.  “I don’t know, baby, have you asked your father?”

Stuart’s heart sank.  “No I… I haven’t asked ‘im.”  

“Well, see what your father says but… it may be a while before he’s ready to see you again.”  

The way she said it, so nonchalantly… it hurt more than if she’d outright told him he was a fucking piece of shit.  He knew what he was, knew the absolute Hell he'd put this family through...  

Stuart suppressed a sob and swallowed his tears before they could well in his eyes.“Ok well, um,” Stuart cleared his throat, “i’ll keep you updated, if you want to, you know, go by yourself.”

Mrs. McCormick smiled sadly and held her son’s fidgeting hands between her own. 

“So I’m going to be a grandma, huh?”She squeezed his limp fingers as she changed the subject.

“Uh, yeah.”Stuart tried to smile, wiping his tears on his shoulder before she could see them glistening on his cheek.“My girlfriend’s pregnant — _fiancé’s_ pregnant — and we’ve decided to make it work and be a real family.”

“That’s wonderful.”Stuart’s mom lulled her head to the side as her eyelids dropped lazily. 

“Her name’s Carol, I think you’d really love her.”Stuart squeezed his mother’s heavy hands, “She’s caring, and loyal, _so_ fucking beautiful, and strong, such a fucking kick ass woman, don’t take no shit from nobody.” Stuart’s mom chuckled delightedly.“She’s a little firecracker, but,” Stuart smiled widely picturing Carol’s soft brown eyes that sparked with electricity and warmed like the sun, “she’s so selfless, too.Total angel.An absolute saint.”Stuart started tearing up, thinking of all the times Carol had dropped everything just to comfort him after a bad comedown, or hold Stuart after a night terror, or even just come over after a hard day, not matter how trivial, and make sure that he knew that everything was going to be ok.

Stuart sniffed and nodded his head.  He whispered, “she’s gonna be a good mom.”

“Aw,” his mother ran a tentative hand down his shoulder.  “Boy or girl?”

Stuart laughed.“It’s only been a little bit, Ma, it’s too young to even be a little person yet.” 

“Well, what are you hoping for?”His mom beamed widely.

Stuart thought about it. 

“Well,” he shrugged, “I mean I guess a boy would be cool.  I can teach him how to be a man, and how to do man things.  I can give him his first beer and help him with his first shave.  If he wants to learn about fixin’ things that’s all Carol’s department, she’s handier than I’ll ever be.”  Stuart laughed. 

“Sounds wonderful.”  Stuart’s mother chuckled dazedly.  

“But a daughter.” Stuart began getting choked up.“A sweet baby girl, could you imagine?Oh, I could learn how to braid her hair, and I could teach her how to dance, and also how to fight just as well as the boys!”He chuckled.“Knowin’ Carol she’ll be teaching our daughter how to fix toilets better than any man.”Stuart laughed.“I just know — boy or girl — I’m going to give this baby all the love in the world.”He vowed, proudly.  Much quieter, he whispered, "I'm gonna love this baby more than anybody's ever loved me."

“See?”  Mrs. McCormick tapped her son in the back of his hand.  “You will be a good dad, too.”  

Stuart swallowed hard as tears rolled down his cheeks. 

“Thanks, ma.”He whispered, not able to look her in the eyes. 

Stuart’s mom patted his hands repetitively as she settled back down against her pillows and allowed her eyes to flutter closed.  

Stuart was about to leave the room when a gnawing thought stopped him in his tracks.Stuart balanced on the balls of his feet as he weighed the consequences of turning around. 

“Hey, ma?”

“Mhm?”She hummed. 

Stuart felt a lump rising in his throat.He swallowed it down and turned to face his mother.“Why don’t you hate me?”

She blinked at him sleepily.  “If I don’t forgive you, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”

That was it. 

Stuart stood there, watching his mother drift off peacefully to sleep.Once she started snoring, he shut off her TV and stood for a moment in the darkness.  He jumped when he started to hear keys rattling in the front door, so he quickly booked it through the dark house and scurried his way into the garage, like the cowardly vermin he is. 

The door slammed shut just in time for Stuart to hear his father’s footsteps marching down the hall.Stuart waited, holding his breath like a child until he heard the steps veer right, and heard the bedroom door close.Stuart sighed with relief and opened his palm to reveal a little blue pill.Sweat had started to make the coating run against his dampened skin. 

Stuart threw back his head and swallowed it before he could change his mind. 

He was not usually a fan of downers, but he was willing to try it if it would maybe help him actually get some sleep tonight.

Stuart dove onto his bed and closed his eyes, begging to fall sleep without any nightmares.


	7. Plastic Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol pays a visit to the one person who's opinion matters more than anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this was part of the next chapter, but I decided to separate them, so there's one more left to go.

*knock knock knock*

Carol bit her lip in the cold night air.

“Who is it?”  A gentle voice questioned from the other side of the door.   

“Granny, it’s me.”Carol called through the barrier.

An excited little ‘oh, Carol!’ could be heard on the other side, barely audible over the clunking and banging of deadbolts unlocking. 

Granny was agoraphobic and paranoid; never let strangers in, never let herself out.  She’d been living with a busted oven for years now because she won’t allow maintenance to repair it.  She’s slipped and fallen so many times on her stairs, but she refused to have anyone install a ramp.  She was growing sicker and sicker every time she caught the flu, but she wouldn’t let the nurses inside her home when Carol’s mother had sent them over.  

Her frail fingers fiddled with the knob, muttering obscenities about how the ‘damn thing always sticks’, before successfully turning the knob.

Carol plastered on a bright smile and stood before the swinging door.  

“Carol!How’s my grand-baby?”Granny scooped her up in her arms and squeezed her tightly.

Carol held onto her frail little body and felt more fragile than the arms wrapped around her like a vise.  Carol began to cry silently as her grandmother joyfully rocked back and forth.  It wasn’t until she pulled away that Granny actually realized that Carol was crying. 

“Oh no, what’s wrong?”She wondered, leading Carol over to a seating area and setting her down in a comfortable chair.“Can I get you anything?”She offered, already halfway into the kitchen.

“No, no, I don’t need anything.”Carol sniffled.

“Well, here’s some tissues.”Granny placed a box of tissues on the ottoman between them and sat down.

They sat in silence, the kitchen clock ticking on in the background.It chimed, must be 7:00 by now.Carol had forgotten that her mom and her granny had matching pendulum clocks.The familiar sound triggered a gnawing ache deep inside of Carol's chest — it made her wonder what her parents were doing right now, _how_ they were doing…

“My parents…”Carol cried out, choking on the words, so they came out more like a whisper.

“Are your parents ok?”Granny worried.

“Yes, yes, they're fine.”  Carol flipped her short hair over her shoulders and took a deep breath, collecting herself.  It wasn’t fair to force Granny to see her like this.  “They… kicked me out.”  Carol admitted calmly.  

She realized it was the first time she’d said it out loud.When she called Laura all she said was ‘come get me, it didn’t go well, come get me’ in the midst of hyperventilation. 

Carol took another soothing breath and clenched her fists tightly.“I have to get my stuff tomorrow, whatever I won’t miss if they throw it out, I guess.”

Granny clicked her tongue and shook her head.“That’s not right.”She sympathized, angry for her granddaughter.“Do you need a place to stay, dear?”Granny offered, looking frantically around at her messy and broken house.“I can… turn the office back into a bedroom?” She suggested weakly.

“No, no, Granny, you don’t have to do that, don’t worry.  I’m staying with my friend Laura for now.”  There was no way Carol was about to put her Granny out like that.  Carol would have her own place with Stuart soon enough, once she got a job.  Besides, even if Carol did help Granny clean up and move the furniture around, there was just too much of it, and nowhere to put it in this tiny house.   

Granny smiled sadly.“I’m so sorry, honey.”She reached forward and placed a hand on the ottoman between them, not fully able to reach her granddaughter.Carol closed the gap and gently squeezed her wrinkled hand.“What got them so upset?”

Carol leaned back in her chair and bit her lip, deciding how much of the truth to tell. 

“Well, I’m pregnant.”She decided to start there.

Granny’s thin lips stretched into a smile. 

“And I’m keeping it.”Carol clarified carefully.

“Good news.”  Granny smiled. 

“But I don’t know what I’m doing.”Carol admitted in a tearful whisper. 

Granny shrugged nonchalantly.“No mother does.Any mother who claims she’s not a little scared shitless is a liar.” 

Carol couldn’t help the smile that began spreading across her lips.

“Is that all?”Granny nodded towards the ring on Carol’s finger knowingly.

Carol actually chuckled a little, glancing down at her ring.“No, that’s not all.I’m also getting married.”Carol looked up to see the happiest look on Granny’s face.

“That’s wonderful!”She cheered, clapping her hands together.“Oh you must get my wedding veil before you leave, it’s in the attic.Oh please, you don’t have to shake your head like that, it’s my gift to you.”Granny beamed.

Carol’s eyes shifted downwards, she wrung her hands together, trying not to cry.“Granny, are you sure?” 

Granny blew air out her lips.“What the hell do I need it for?I have my wedding pictures.”

Carol laughed for the first time in hours.“Well, thank you.I’d love to have it.”Carol wiped tears off her cheek and smiled.

“But that’s not why they kicked you out…”Granny probed knowingly. 

“No, it’s not.”Carol admitted.She stared at Granny for a second trying to decide how to explain that her fiancé was the problem; explain that Carol was choosing him over her own blood.“It’s my boyfriend.”She explained simply.

“Fiancé.”Granny corrected with a wink. 

“Yeah, my fiancé.”Carol felt butterflies flutter around in her stomach at the thought.

“What’s so bad about him?  You can tell me,” Granny squared her shoulders proudly, “I’ve gotten in trouble over quite a few boys in my time.” 

Carol smiled, though her smile was fleeting. 

“Um.”This was the part Carol had a hard time explaining.“Well he’s… kind of a ‘bad-boy’ type, I guess…”That was probably the gentlest way of putting it. 

“Ooh!Does he ride a motorcycle?”Granny’s eyes popped wide in excitement.

Carol laughed.“No, but he wants one.”She chuckled lovingly. 

“So what’s the problem?”Granny shrugged.“So he’s a little fun, what’s the harm?”

Carol shook her head.  If only she knew… “I don’t know,” Carol ran her fingers through her hair worriedly, “he’s gotten into some trouble before… some would say he’s not a good influence on me… also, he wildly disrespected my parents… they basically said I _chose_ him, over them, if I wouldn’t leave him…”

Granny pursed her lips in thought.“Well, can’t say that any of that is _great_ news,” Carol tipped her head down in embarrassment.“But honey, let me ask you this.”Carol looked up to see Granny leaning forward in her chair with tears in her eyes.“Do you love him?”

Carol felt a deep ache in her chest.“I really do.”She smiled. 

Granny’s face lit up.“Then that’s all that matters.” 

Carol wrung her hands together nervously.“B-but my parents—”

“Fuck ‘em!” Granny shrugged. 

“Granny!”Carol chided, more entertained than offended, but shocked nonetheless. 

“Yes, it’s important to keep civility between your husband and your parents, but at the end of the day, who’s house are you going home to?Who’s bed are you sleeping in?Your fiancé — what’s his name?”

“Stuart.”Carol answered robotically.

“Stuart.”Granny smiled.“Stuart will have to learn to get along with them, if only for weekend visits.He’s young, he made a mistake.But if you love each other, can’t nobody keep you apart.You think my mother-in-law and I got along?”Granny lifted her eyebrows and blew air out her lips.“Heck no!Every time she would step into my house she would find little ways of telling me I was running it wrong.Boy I tell you the things I wanted to say to her…” Carol laughed at Granny biting her hypothetical tongue.“And yes, family is family, but you don’t have to sacrifice your chosen family for your given one.If you love him like family, then he is your family.”Granny handed her a tissue as Carol began to cry again, "True love only comes once a lifetime.If that’s not what this is then fine, you’ll figure that out on your own time.But if it is,” Granny leaned forward to grasp Carol’s shaking hands again, “you don’t want to lose that just because a hot-tempered boy said ‘fuck you’ to your parents after they damn near broke his heart.”

Carol furrowed her brow in confusion.“Wait, I never told you that part—”

“Your mother called me.”Granny smiled.Carol’s eyes widened.“We only talked for a minute.She didn’t say she kicked you out, or that you were pregnant, but she did say she was very concerned about your new boy.”

“What did she tell you?”Carol whispered ashamedly, hoping and praying that Granny was still oblivious to the specifics of the story.

Granny tipped her chin up.“Well she didn’t get into any specifics but I got the gist.”

“Was she crying?”  Carol worried, tearing up. 

“She’ll come around.”Was all Granny replied. 

 

Carol was standing on Granny’s attic step ladder, sorting through boxes and choking on dust.

“It should be in a box to your left dear!”  Granny called from the bottom of the steps. 

Carol’s scanned the circular storage space, packed with old memories and treasures. 

“There’s so much stuff in here.”  Carol exclaimed with wonder.  

“Yep.  Lotta memories.”  Granny agreed flatly. 

“Why don’t you keep some of this stuff downstairs?”  Carol wondered, captivated by what looked like homemade paintings — including some rather good self portraits — all signed with Granny’s teenage nick-name, ‘Willowdean’.  

Granny sighed sadly.“Sometimes good memories get tainted once they’ve gone.”

Carol turned to her right to see a box of baby clothes that must have been her mother’s.  “Granny, do you need these baby clothes?”  Carol asked carefully.  If they were meant to be mementos, she didn’t want to take them away. 

Granny gasped and clapped excitedly.“I forgot I had those!Yes, yes, please take them!” 

Carol opened the box and looked inside.The infancy clothes looked unisex enough, and there were definitely girl’s dresses up to toddler age in there as well, but there were also some little shorts and collared shirts that would be perfect for a little boy. “Whose were these?”Carol called down the ladder, sifting through the box as she spoke. 

“Let’s see, your mother, definitely.I’m pretty sure some of her cousin Jimmy’s toddler clothes are in there as well, there might even be some of his brother Andy’s baby clothes in there too.Lots to choose from!”Granny exclaimed excitedly. 

At the bottom of the box, Carol grabbed hold of something plushier than clothing, something that felt like a small head.Carol tugged on the lump of fabric, and pulled out a small elephant blanket with a plush head and a sewn face. 

“Whose was this?”Carol held the elephant down by her side so Granny could see it from under the ladder. 

Granny gasped.  “That was your mother’s childhood blanket, Ellie-the-Elephant!”  Carol picked the thing back up to look at it in its stitched-on smiling face, tracing her thumb over the little pink bow sewn into its head.  Carol felt her stomach drop as she traced the little features with her fingertip.  This was her mother’s precious childhood memory, and taking it didn’t feel right, especially not after today. 

But Carol thought about the next time she would be able to afford to buy her kid toys, let alone food, and she shoved the toy deep in the clothing box.       

Carol dragged the big box over towards the other clothing bins and searched for the veil.

 

“Thank you again, Granny.”Carol traced the intricate lace of her grandmother’s wedding veil and held it close to her chest.“Are you sure you don’t want it back?” 

“No, it’s a gift, take it.  May it bring you as much joy in your marriage as it brought me in mine.”  Granny smiled tearfully.  

Carol hugged her tightly “thank you.” 

Carol picked up the box of baby clothes and went to put them in Laura’s trunk.“Hey.Wake up.”She banged on the driver’s side window, startling Laura who had fallen asleep in the front seat.Laura unlocked the trunk and started the car.“Thank you, again.I’m just gonna say goodbye.”Carol called into the car before shutting the trunk and walking back to the house.

“Has your friend been sitting there that whole time?It’s already 8:30.”Granny asked, appalled.

“Um.Yes.”Carol admitted.“But she insisted she wait.”It was true.

“She didn’t wanna come inside?”Granny waved towards the direction of the car. 

“No, she knew this had to be just you and me.  You know, since I came her to invite you to my wedding and all…” Carol laughed nervously, glancing at her grandmother knowingly.  “You’ll come?”

Granny pursed her lips and looked off to the side.“Oh.Now, Carol, you know I’d want to—”

“Please?” 

Carol stared at her grandmother with desperate eyes.Granny stared back helplessly.Carol knew she wasn’t well, even if she got over her fears — which wasn’t likely to happen — she couldn’t walk very far for very long anymore without needing a break, and she definitely couldn’t drive.“Will you _try?”_ Carol begged softly. 

Granny grabbed onto Carol’s hands and squeezed as tightly as she could, a wide smile stretching across her wrinkled face, despite her eyes beginning to mist. 

“I’ll be there.”

Something in Granny’s eyes told Carol that she knew it wasn’t the truth, but Carol smiled anyway and accepted the sentiment.She knew Granny wouldn’t be there in person, but hearing her say that she’d go lifted a weight off of Carol’s shoulders.Even if Granny couldn’t go, she wanted to.It was the thought that counts, anyway.

Carol kissed her Granny on the cheek and gave her one last hug.“I’ll send pictures and video as soon as I get them.”Carol promised. 

“I look forward to it.”Granny squeezed Carol tightly.“And bring that baby here for a visit!My great-grand-baby will not be stranger to me!”Carol’s squeezed her eyes tightly, choking back tears. 

“We’ll be here.”Carol pulled back to look at her Granny one last time before walking out the door. 

She heard a multitude of deadbolts lock behind her as she walked away from the house. 

 

 


	8. Plastic Suitcases

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol packs her bags and officially leaves her old life behind forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, I cannot tell you how hard it was for me to write such a hopelessly sad piece that never resolves to happiness.
> 
> But I really wanted to finish this, and I honestly think this last chapter is my favorite, even though it hurts the most.
> 
> Officially getting back to the High School AU after this (same universe), and the next burst of those chapters should be up shortly.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading my version of Stuart and Carol's tragic love story, I need to sleep this one off for a while.

“Laura, put that down please, my parents will be here in an hour.” 

Laura set down Carol’s sunglasses and resumed packing up her closet.

Carol tossed everything that meant anything to her into assorted trash bags, placing her most prized possessions gently inside her red, pleather suitcase. 

She packed up her favorite books, CDs, and pictures and shoved them deep inside the suitcase with her grandfather’s jacket, jewelry, and a small amount of money she had lying around her room. 

As she was going through her dresser, Carol pulled out the bottom drawer to find a half finished carton of cigarettes.She froze, staring down at the half-empty pack.After a moment of hesitation, Carol quickly grabbed the pack and held it in her hands.She tipped a cigarette over into her palm, and after it tumbled a small plastic bag.It lay there, quivering in her trembling hand, before Carol stormed into the bathroom and flushed it down the toilet. 

She watched it swirl around in the water until it disappeared forever. 

“Hey, if you’re just gonna toss those cigarettes can I just have them?”Laura questioned from the doorway.

Carol took one last look inside the pack and found only cigarettes. 

“Have at it.”She tossed the clean pack at Laura.

“Thanks!”Laura stuffed the pack in her jacket pocket and walked into the bathroom. 

“What are you doing?”  Carol mumbled at her, flatly, as Laura picked up a paper towel and began to Windex the bathroom mirrors.  

“The closet is done.”Laura shrugged as she cleaned.“You said you wanted to clean your room after we packed so, let’s get started.” 

Carol stared at her through the mirror, watching the cleanliness of the glass spread closer and closer to her dirty reflection. 

“I’m gonna pay your parents back, you know.Once I have the money.”Carol whispered.

Laura stopped wiping and made eye contact with Carol's reflection.“I know.”She lowered her arm and leaned against the sink.“You know you don’t have to though.They’re not expecting it."    

“I know.”Carol lowered her eyes to the cheap engagement ring on her left hand.

Laura nodded sympathetically.  “Why don’t you do one more sweep of the room?Make sure you have everything you need, I’ll finish up in here.”

Carol turned and walked back into her bedroom. 

 

Laura was doing a final run with the vacuum while Carol said goodbye to her childhood room. 

She traced the walls with her fingertips, remembering when the solid lilac paint was once animal circus wallpaper. 

She traced the spines of all the books she’d leave behind: 'The Secret Garden', 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Color Purple', even Stephen King’s 'IT'.  She loved them all, but they were too much to carry.  

She picked up her stuffed animals one by one and squeezed them.When Carol got to the last one she hesitated.It was the off-brand Raggedy-Ann-inspired Princess doll that her mom had bought her at the hospital when she had her tonsils removed.Carol squeezed her little stomach and rubbed the felt crown between her fingertips. 

“You’ll come with me.Sorry guys.”She apologized jokingly to the other plushies.

Carol dropped her shiny suitcase back on her freshly made bed and popped open the latch.It was already full to the brim with stuff, but she couldn’t leave this doll behind.It hadn’t meant much to her before, but it felt like home to her, now.Carol smoothed pink yarn pigtails against her palm and placed the doll gently in the suitcase. 

Laura had already placed the vacuum back in the hallway and returned to grab the trash bags. 

“Ready to go?”She asked Carol, scooping up two plastic bags in her hands. 

Carol didn’t answer, she quietly latched the suitcase and crossed the bedroom. 

“I’ll meet you at the car.”  Laura smiled flatly, heading out the door.  

Carol ran her hand along the door frame, where she’d carved little hearts into the paint one bored afternoon in high school.Carol took one last look at her half-empty room and shut off the light.Laura’s high beams shone through the window and reflected off of the elaborately-fake-crystal chandelier in the center of her room.The light made shadows appear to dance on the wall like watching old memories. 

Carol picked up the last trash bag in her other hand and headed towards the front door. 

She turned around one last time before flipping on the outside lights for her parents, and closing the door behind her. 


End file.
